Abstract

Virtual prototyping is gaining increased relevance as a viable cost-effective alternative to the more traditional methods of physical prototyping for engineering design. Today's computer systems are well-able to handle the complex system equation solutions and visualisation/animation overheads in pseudo real-time. This project develops a framework, using MATLAB/Simulink, whereby engineering component definitions are assembled into systems and simulated for dynamic performance. Engineering components are largely defined by spatial extent, behavioural characteristics within a wide spectrum of operating conditions, material properties and production-related attributes. These feature definitions, and other data, can be captured within digital files and supplied by manufacturers as the means to encapsulating the essential nature of their product. An initial protocol is established to capture these features in dedicated virtual definition files directories. MATLAB is a powerful computational engine for the solution to, and visualisation of, largely, matrix-based problems. Simulink, integrated with MATLAB, is a sophisticated tool for the simulation of system dynamic behaviour. These two products, in their student edition forms, are shown to integrate seamlessly, via a series of graphical user interface controls, as a relatively easy-to-use virtual prototyping tool. The main outcome of the project is a MATLAB/Simulink application VirtProtoBench, which uses the virtual prototyping methodology to: - load and assemble virtual component file definitions; - assemble components into a required engineering system; - use relevant system equations and component behaviour parameters to simulate the working system; and - provide simultaneous system animation and parameter feedback. VirtProtoBench is not a robust production version for virtual prototyping use. The full complexity of all aspects of all system parameter interactions, tolerance checking, failure conditions, etc are not implemented and is beyond the scope of this work. Nevertheless, to show its feasibility it is used to build, assemble and test several simple components comprising a geared-hoist mechanism.